MANCHESTER UNITED practised defending corners in their warm-up before facing Arsenal… and still went on to concede from them TWICE.
Mikel Arteta’s men went into the game with a reputation for being dangerous from corner kicks.
And they lived up to that billing as Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both nodded home from the set-pieces to hand Arsenal a 2-0 win at the Emirates.
Ruben Amorim’s side could not deal with the deliveries all evening as Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino also went close from corners.
So it will come as a major surprise to most Man Utd fans that the Red Devils were preparing for Arsenal’s corner-kick assault just moments before the match.
A video posted by Manchester Evening News shows corners being whipped in as Man Utd’s defenders – who were in bibs – head them away while under pressure from some of their team-mates.
Yet it clearly did not work as they then looked all at sea for the corners taken by Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
And fans on social media saw the irony in the training drill.
One said: “You can’t stop the inevitable 😂.”
Another added: “They should’ve had Declan or Bukayo take the corners for them in the warm-up.”
A third replied: “Not once did they start from outside the goal and run in once… they did it all wrong 😂🤣🤣.”
While a fourth jokingly responded: “They defended the corners so well in training tbf🤣😀.”
Arsenal have now scored 22 goals from corners since the start of last season – seven more than Manchester City and eight more than Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Next up for Arsenal is a trip to Fulham on Sunday, before they host Monaco in the Champions League.
How to stop Arsenal at corners
Arsenal have turned into a prolific team when it comes to scoring from corners.
The Gunners have now scored 22 goals from them since the start of last season – seven more than their nearest rival Manchester City and eight more than Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Two of them came against Manchester United – Jurrien Timber and William Saliba netting in the second half to earn Mikel Arteta’s men a vital win as they chase down Arne Slot’s Reds.
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were the architects with their deliveries, and each now have seven set-piece assists since the start of the 2023/24 campaign – more than any other player.
United legend Dimitar Berbatov joked Arsenal are the new Stoke City of the top flight – a side under Tony Pulis who terrorised the so-called “bigger clubs” with set-piece mastery.
Here are four ways to stop Arteta’s side at corners
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